Corruption and Redemption
by rndmize
Summary: Naruto flees Konoha soon after Sasuke's defection. Alone and hunted, he is forced to adapt, to mature and grow harder, stronger, losing the person he once was. Now, he holds the fate of his village in his hands: to save it, or watch it burn... Dark Naruto
1. First Fall

_Morning. Sunlight streamed through the window, irritating the twelve-year-old boy dozing in bed. Grumbling, he pulls his nightcap lower, trying to hide his eyes from the insistent morning light. After a moment, he gives up; he's gotten bigger than he used to be, and the cap no longer quite fits. He sits up in bed, yawning. _

_After rubbing his eyes awake, he glances at the wall across from his bed. A calendar hangs there, with days crossed off in red ink. The boy counts the days left until he reaches one circled in black and curses quietly when it adds up to eight. Just to make sure, he gets up, pulling on some orange pants left at the foot of the bed and walks over to the calendar. He sighs; eight more days to wait. _

_He blinks. Today is the tenth of October. His face widens into a grin – today he turns thirteen! – then slowly turns to a frown. Birthdays are always the worst day of the year, as it falls on the same day the Kyubi attacked and almost destroyed the village. He glances down at his stomach, where the seal resides invisibly. That the demon is sealed inside him only makes things worse; he has attracted the anger of the villagers all his life, as if he were the demon himself. _

_Someone knocks on the door. Startled, the boy turns to get it, only to hesitate for a moment. The knock comes again, fainter, and the boy makes his decision, pulling the door open wide. A girl stands in the doorway, notable for the lack of pupils in her eyes – though it's a little hard to see given the way she studies the ground. The boy has a surprised look on his face for a moment, only to replace it with a grin a second later. _

_"Hinata! What are you doing here?" His brow furrows. "Wait, how do you know where I live?" _

_The girl scuffles her feel, reddening. "I-I asked S-Sakura-san. I wanted to give you something." She takes a breath and pulls her hands from behind her back. She holds out a small white box, finally looking up at his face. "A b-b-birthday present for you, Naruto-kun." _

_"Really? For me?" Naruto takes the box reverently. "You know, I don't think I've ever gotten a birthday present except for a pair of goggles from Iruka," he says almost absently, pulling open the box. Hinata's eyes widen. "Except for the occasional beating," he adds sourly. _

_His breath catches as he pulls out a simple silver bracelet. Carved on it are three kanji: Loyalty, Perseverance, and Strength. Carefully, he slips it over his right hand; it's a little loose on his wrist. _

_"I etched it m-myself," says Hinata, turning redder by the minute and tapping her fingers together. "It's a little big, but…" _

_"It's amazing," he whispers. Naturo looks up and grabs her in a hug. "Thank you." Hesitantly at first, Hinata hugs him back. _

_Something changes. Naruto lets go and looks up. Iruka is standing in front of him, smiling. Yet there's something painful in his smile. "You don't deserve this Naruto. I want you to have your dreams. I want you to become Hokage. I want you… to live." Iruka falls to one knee, coughing blood. _

_"Iruka!" he yells, glancing around wildly. He's trapped in an alley, tall walls on every side except the front. A mob of townspeople with a few ninjas are there, shouting and screaming and waving weapons. He glances up; there's more ninja on the roofs, waiting for him to try and escape. A ninja steps forward from the crowd, a jounin Naruto has never met. He smiles, raises a kunai, and stabs Iruka in the back on the neck. Naruto sees the blood spreading, from Iruka's neck and a dozen other wounds from weapons that cover his back. A hint of a memory, of Iruka grabbing him and standing in the path of the villagers attacks flashes through his mind. The scene in front of him won't mesh, his mind can't seem to grasp it. Iruka, lying on the ground, stabbed in dozens of places with his neck twisted at an odd angle, blood spreading slowly from his body. _

_The roar of the mob is muted, though Naruto absently notes they're growing louder and moving closer. The ninja on the roofs are moving slowly, pulling out kunai and shuriken. Naruto stands frozen, a voice in his mind repeating "Iruka is dead, Iruka is dead," over and over. _

_Iruka's lips move. It's impossible, he's already dead, but Naruto kneels and makes out one word: "live." _

_Something snaps. Naruto feels his eyes burning, and suddenly the night shifts. The unknown jounin is front of him is Kabuto. The mob is smaller than he imagined, but more intent to kill. The ninja above are easy for him to see now, and he flexes a clawed hand. He stands slowly, noting the crowd has quieted significantly. No matter. The anger, the fury he feels needs to escape. He holds out his left hand, fingers wide, and red chakra starts to swirl. Second by second, the threads grow denser and spread in a wide sphere, covering most of the mob. Only the ninja can see it, but all the villagers can feel it. There's a complete hush, as the mob mentality reverses from anger to fear. _

_The sphere explodes into a massive Rasengan, red chakra ripping through the mob. In a split-second, people on the periphery are blasted back and those in the center laced with deep, razor-sharp lacerations or left in pieces. There's so much blood it forms a thick mist in the air, coating everything and everyone. _

_Kabuto – he knows its Kabuto, for he simply sees through the genjitsu that hid him before – is the only one left standing, with deep cuts that are quickly healing. The ninja watching from above are stunned at the destruction. Even Kabuto is shaken, for all the information he has gathered on the Kyubi container. He realizes Naruto has taken a step towards him. He shifts to a defensive stance, but he's too slow and too late. Naruto blurs and appears next to him – how could he move so fast? – and punches him in the side. The force of the blow slams Kabuto against the side wall, with five-foot cracks spreading from the point of impact. _

_Naruto is in front of him, instantly. Kabuto tries to strike a pressure point with his left hand, only to have Naruto seize his fingers and bend them backwards so quickly they snap. Trying to ignore the pain, Kabuto brings up the kunai in his right, aiming for the neck. Naruto smoothly steps inside the radius of the attack, grabbing the arm with one hand and smashing an elbow into Kabuto's chest with the other. Kabuto hears bone snap and happens to look down at Naruto's face. _

_His eyes are the Kyubi's eyes, red, slitted and glowing with demonic chakra. Blood is splattered across half his face and in his blonde hair. Naruto grins, showing his lengthened canines, steps under Kabuto's arm and pulls hard. The shoulder throw leaves Kabuto upside-down, embedded in the opposite wall. Mercifully, Kabuto feels himself fade to unconsciousness. _

_Blood drips from his claws as Naruto leaps to the roof. One ninja recovers and attacks, only to be torn limb from limb by brute strength. Naruto turns to face the ones that remain, a merciless grin on his face. Then there's only blood, and blood, and more blood…_

Naruto opened his eyes. Even after five years, even after discarding his guilt, his memories replayed themselves in his dreams.

He yawned and stood, stretching. Seeing the sun was well above the horizon, he cursed quietly. No time for dreams; he should have been moving hours ago. A certain merchant wanted one of his competitors dead and was willing to pay a good sum for it. The faster he completed the job, the faster he would get paid. His stomach grumbled. And the faster he could get some ramen.

Naruto glanced around, choosing his path – and paused. He sniffed the air, trying the catch the elusive scent. A small gust of wind brushed his nose, and his face darkened.

Hunter-nin from the west. From Konoha.


	2. Capture

Naruto sat on a massive branch lotus-style, tossing and catching a kunai. After the third toss, he snatched it from the air and threw it in one clean motion, resulting in a loud thunk as it was buried halfway up the blade in a tree some thirty yards away. He reached over and picked up another kunai from a pile, giving no sign that he could hear someone closing in on him in a circular pattern. _What you don't know can hurt you_ he though, grinning. Few ninja were astute enough to notice how sensitive his nose and ears were, though he tended to hide it to have a slight, unexpected edge over is opponents.

Naruto threw another few kunai, curving them around the first. This hunter was certainly taking his time, he noted absently. Either he was cautious of alerting Naruto to his presence – he grinned again at the thought – or he was laying traps, or waiting for allies to attack in force. Naruto sniffed the air. There was the scent of the ninja closing on him, of course, as well as the variety of scents from trees and animals in the forest, and the slightest hint of another human scent. An ambush, then; more interesting was the slightly familiar scent of the ninja closing on him.

A moment later, the ninja was close enough for Naruto to feel his presence. He paused for a second in his kunai throwing to identify it and blinked. It was Neji. Well, perhaps that wasn't so surprising; Neji was an ANBU captain and had passed Hiashi as the strongest of the Hyugas, though he had apparently refused to lead the second mission to kill Naruto a year or two ago. Probably a good thing – Naruto had sent the four-man team back to Konoha in cubic-foot boxes. The object of Naruto's thought dropped onto his branch, just a few feet from him.

"Neji," he acknowledged. "What brings you so far from Konoha?" A last kunai finished the spiral he'd made on the tree across from him.

"I was ordered to bring a message from the village council and Godaime Hokage." Neji was curt but seemed relaxed. Naruto smiled slightly.

"What do the old fools want from me? It seems a little odd that they'd deign to talk to me now."

"They wouldn't, but the Godaime insisted. W- I am here to request that you return… to Konoha."

"And why would I want to do that?" Naruto was still sitting relaxed and smiling, but there was a hint of darker emotion in his voice.

"The Godaime cares for you, even after all this time and even after the deaths of eight anbu." Neji's voice seemed to grow deader towards the end, if that was possible. "She fears for your survival and believes you could aid the village greatly." The unspoken threat of the Sound loomed. "If you come willingly, you will be tried by the council for your crimes but the Godaime will ensure that the punishment is minimized. Your status as a missing-nin will also be removed."

"It seems odd that the council would allow me to return to the village with minimal punishment."

"The council fears you and your power, but they fear even more that such strength could turn against them. The forces against Konoha are significant and growing, and powerful wildcards with no clear allegiance or intentions could be a deciding factor. Dealing with multiple enemies is troublesome; dealing with enemies who work together is decidedly worse."

Naruto frowned. "You sound like Shikamaru."

For a split-second, Neji looked off-balance. "That is correct; the strategic analysis was done by him."

"You're using too many big words for a stupid missing-nin like me." Naruto covered his mouth and yawned. "Could say it a little simpler?"

Irritation seemed to be rolling off Neji. "Will you come back to Konoha?"

Naruto looked up and smiled, showing slightly pointed teeth. "No."

Neji stepped forward immediately, striking with spear-hands aimed at paralyzing pressure points so fast his hands blurred.

Naruto looked down at his suddenly immobile body. "Neji," he tried to shrug, "it's not nice to hit people when they're sitting." The bunshin exploded in cloud of smoke.

Focus. "Byakugan!" Neji opened his eyes and caught sight of Naruto on a higher branch a couple dozen yards away.

"Really, Neji," he said, grinning, "do you think so lowly of me that you could…" A green blur interrupted Naruto, attacking him with dozens of kicks and punches. "Konoha senpu!" Too fast, Naruto's legs were swept from underneath him. Somehow he twisted into an impossible leap back just as the Green Beast smashed the place where he'd been with a brutal punch. Perhaps a little too brutal; the branch, for all it's ten-foot diameter, broke cleanly.

Naruto barely registered this. Even as he landed from the back flip, a hail of kunai, shuriken and other weapons flew at him with deadly accuracy. Catching the first two kunai, he quickly worked to block the flying weapons, jumping and dodging to avoid the heaviest concentrations. Sweat beaded on his brow. When he had a split second break, he used a kawarimi to switch with a clone on the opposite side of the tree. It was too fast for normal eyes to see as the clone now worked to deflect the attack, but not for eyes with a bloodline limit. Anticipating Naruto's actions, Neji was clinging to the other side of the tree and dropped to attack as soon as he saw the clone created and switched.

Amazingly, Naruto spun and managed to block the first set of strikes even though Neji had landed facing his back. Naruto was grinning as Neji forced him back against the tree. "Surprised, Neji?"

Neji shifted back and deepened his stance. "Divination field: 128 strikes!"

"Shi-" A fist exploded out of the tree behind Naruto and wrapped around his neck before he could jump away. Neji wasted no time.

"Two! Four! Eight!" Wrestling with the green-clothed arm around his neck, Naruto still managed to kick away the first sets of slower strikes. But there was no escape from the last two sets. Naruto slumped as Lee let him go and punched the rest of the way through the tree in a cloud of wood chips.

"Did you get him?" asked the weapons master from several branches higher.

"Of course! No one can escape the fury of the Azure Green Beast!"

Tenten ignored Lee's monologue concerning victory and green beasts and focused on Neji, jumping down next to him. Naruto was lying on his back breathing heavily, his eyes closed. Neji scanned his body with his Byakugan.

"It looks that way. His tenketsus are sealed and the extra chakra in my attacks has damaged him internally. Even with demonic chakra, he'll have a difficult time now."

-

"What happened?" asked Shikamaru.

"It looks like Neji managed to disable him. Naruto's down, and the others are around him." Ino's range and control of mind-affecting techniques had grown over the years. Her abilities ranged from seizing control of a target's mind to being able to look through memories and emotions to having only a slight presence that allowed her to feel another's senses. Currently, she was connected to Tenten and could see, hear, and feel what she felt. This was far more efficient and effective than using headsets to know how well the attack was going. At least, Shikamaru though sourly, when Ino could adequately describe what was happening.

"Should we move in?" Ino interrupted his musings.

Shikamaru considered. There was something wrong with how quickly Naruto had been taken. Granted, the members of Team Gai were all extremely skilled ninja, but somehow… He'd heard a rumor that Naruto had faced Itachi and had forced him to retreat. While different from actually defeating him, this was still an impressive accomplishment – if it was true. Shika became aware of the women staring at him.

"We'll wait a little while longer. After all, Naruto's favorite thing to do is surprise people. We don't need to show all our cards yet." Kurenai nodded.

"But-" Ino stopped mid-word, her eyes unfocused as if intent on something else entirely. Shikamaru sighed; something must have gone wrong.

"How troublesome."

-

"Well, he should be unable to fight for some time. Let's go." Neji turned away and Lee stepped forward to pick up Naruto.

"Actually, I think I can fight just fine." Surprise registered on Lee's face for a second and Neji whipped around, activating his Byakugan. Sitting on a nearby branch, Tenten pulled a scroll from her bag and tensed. Naruto hadn't moved.

"Ah, Naruto! Such a fighting spirit you have, even though you can barely move." Lee adjusted his stance. "If you can stand, I would be honored…"

"Tenten! Behind you!" Neji yelled. Tenten whipped around barely managing to block the stabbing kunai of a clone, only for a second to hit her with a flying side-kick, knocking her into the tree trunk.

"Such a spoilsport, Neji." Naruto sat up, smiling at him as Lee engaged several clones attacking from behind. Forming a set of one-handed seals too fast to see, Naruto vanished in a flurry of leaves. Neji had little time to notice as he noted a dozen clones leaping from a variety of directions to attack.

"Foolishness. Kaiten!" The sphere of chakra destroyed the clones instantly. Lee was smashing his way through the last few that remained near him with incredible speed and Tenten had recovered quickly enough to hold several back with a rain of weapons from her scroll. Neji moved to help her, dodging attacks and destroying clones with single strikes. In just a few minutes, all the clones were gone.

Neji scanned the area and caught site of Naruto a couple hundred yards away. "Lee, Tenten. He shouldn't be able to take much more. Follow me." As one, team Gai leapt away.

"It looks like that was Naruto's last bit of strength. Neji must have stopped him up pretty well."

Shikamaru glanced over at Kurenai who returned his look and nodded once. She vanished.

"We're going to wait just a little longer, Ino, though we need to move a little closer." Shikamaru looked at her. "Do you need me to carry you with that mind-link thing?" Ino glared at him frostily.

"I can control my body quite well as long as I don't have full possession of someone." She leapt away and Shikamaru had to scramble to catch up. Troublesome, he thought to himself and sighed mentally.

-

Naruto pulled out a windmill shuriken and spun it rapidly, locking the four sides in place. Kunai and shuriken were knocked aside by the spinning blades as Lee charged towards him from the opposite side. Quickly, Naruto swung the shuriken towards Lee before spinning a full circle and throwing it in Tenten's direction. Lee stopped short just long enough to dodge the whirling blades, but it was enough. Even as Lee threw his first punch, Naruto vanished and appeared behind him, striking him in the side with impossible speed. Lee flew into the air, managing to land on his feet some distance away.

Neji dropped to the opposite end of the branch, moving towards Naruto even as he blocked a fresh assault of thrown weapons. Naruto's eyes flickered and saw him coming.

"Kage-bunshin no jutsu!" Clones exploded out of the air, almost forming a wall in front of Neji and absorbing Tenten's attack. Neji barely even thought about his actions.

"Kaiten!" The sphere of chakra blasted the bunshins in his path to nothing and Tenten picked off the remaining ones. _Doesn't he ever lear-_

A stream of fire exploded towards him just as he stopped the spin. No time. A green blur slammed into him, taking both of them away just in time. Neji watched as Naruto's fire technique tore down the blackened the length of the branch and burned the end to ash.

Lee looked at him, more serious than he had ever seen him. "Don't underestimate him." Neji nodded and tried to forget that he had nearly been burned to a crisp.

A girl's scream brought them back to reality. Neji felt his face twist in fear. _Tenten!_ Lee was already moving, dashing up the tree towards the location of the scream. With his 360-degree vision, Neji could see she'd been knocked from a branch and was falling rapidly, apparently unconscious. Moving faster than he ever had in his life, Neji dashed from branch to branch. _Make it in time…_ With his last leap, he caught her. The landing jarred his knees, almost causing him to bite his lip. Tenten was breathing, but a nasty cut marked her forehead; her protector had been cut cleanly in half. Neji tried to restrain his breathing as he tied a quick bandage. Healing was not his strength. Above, Naruto and Lee leapt from tree to tree, almost too fast to see as they traded brutal blows. Lee was slightly faster, but it was clear that he was at a disadvantage. Naruto engaged him with Taijutsu minimally, instead using clones and switching techniques to keep him distant and off-balance.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" A dragon of water materialized in front of Naruto, flying with jaws wide towards Lee. Neji tensed as Lee barely managed to flip away, but the dragon turned and came again, its coils limiting his ability to dodge.

Ino was suddenly beside him. He turned to face her. "Can you…"

"I know some healing techniques, she'll be fine. If Lee is left alone any longer, he won't be. Go!" Neji nodded and leapt up to Naruto. Naruto was holding something in his hand, a ball of lightning that looked similar but much less concentrated than a Chidori. He was watching the dragon as it flew after Lee, his arm cocked to throw. Neji understood instinctively and flew at Naruto.

Naruto saw him coming. He frowned, but turned to face him, throwing the ball lightning. Neji just managed to dodge and worked a quick replacement. The block of wood he changed with was smashed to kindling by Naruto's punch. Neji moved to attack but Naruto was too fast. His strikes were deflected from their targets, leaving his chest exposed as Naruto swept them to the sides. Naruto's hands drew back and Neji instinctively closed his eyes, bringing his hands back to block even though he knew he was too late.

Nothing happened. Neji opened his eyes to see Shikamaru in the darkness near the tree trunk, his shadow stretching forward and binding Naruto in place. Naruto seemed to be straining against the technique, his eyes narrowed.

"Shikamaru. I suspected you had something to do with this party."

Shikamaru shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Can't watch the clouds all the time. As some of Konoha's best ninja and with more knowledge of you than most, it wasn't surprising we were selected for this mission." He frowned. "Sorry to cut this short, but we're a little behind as it is. And I hear Akatsuki's been spotted is this area, so we need to get back to Konoha quickly. Ino!" Ino leapt up, landing in front of Naruto.

Naruto grimaced. "And what part does she play in this?"

"Well, I can't really march you all the way home with my shadow bind, so Ino's going to take control of your body," Shikamaru responded, almost apologetically. Naruto's fury seemed to double at this, and a bead of sweat ran down Shikamaru's face from the effort of maintaining the bind. "Quickly, Ino."

"Shintenshin no jutsu!" Ino's body collapsed as her spirit left. A second later, Naruto stopped straining against the shadow bind and adopted a pouting expression – something that disturbed Shikamaru more than he cared to admit. "I've got him Shika, so can you let the bind go now?"

"Certainly," he said, trying to keep a straight face. Maybe this was an odd time to notice, but he didn't think he'd ever seen Ino use the body control technique on a guy before. Shikamaru shook his head and released his shadow. "You sure you've got him?" he asked, running through all the seemingly impossible situations Naruto had ever managed to escape from. The list was long.

"Are you doubting my abilities, Shikamaru?" Naruto's body asked with the slightest undertone of menace.

_Troublesome_. "Of course not," he said out loud, ignoring the suspicious stare directed his way. Glancing around, he noticed that his team had gathered. "The capture was successful," he said in a louder, more serious voice. "Ino can only maintain control as long as she has chakra. Given the difficulty in capturing Naruto," Shikamaru's eyes flickered to Neji, holding Tenten's unconscious body, "the faster we return to Konoha, the better, not to mention we're edging on Sound territory." The assembled ninja nodded somberly. "I will take point." Neji seemed ready to protest, but Shikamaru held up his hand to forestall him. "My shadow walk will allow me to cover ground more efficiently than any one else and I am the least tired of team, with the exception of Kurenai. Neji will carry Tenten and follow. Lee will carry Ino-"

"I can carry myself, Shikamaru," Ino interrupted, looking over her/Naruto's body admiringly and flexing. "Plus, that'll leave Lee free to deal with any trouble we come across."

Shikamaru thought for a second and nodded. "Fine. Lee, you'll stay with Ino as she won't be able to fight effectively. Kurenai will be last and will leave behind illusions and traps every so often to confuse and slow any possible pursuit. Any questions?" Shikamaru looked at each one in turn as they shook their heads. "Good. Let's move."


	3. Hunting the Hunters

/ Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, this applies to all previous and subsequent chapters in this story 'cause I'm too lazy to keep rewriting it.

Also, thanks to all readers and reviewers; you are appreciated.

As for the people that think Ino is too powerful, let me explain. This story takes place when the Rookie Nine are around the ages of 19 and 20. Ino is currently a Jounin and ANBU (her rivalry with Sakura has become one of overall strength, and since Sakura has been trained by a Sannin, Ino's been busting her ass to keep up - and has still fallen behind, sadly). Given that she's below average (compared with the Nine, anyway) in Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu, her family-specific techniques would have to be over the top to help her make Jounin. Also, her techniques have gotten stronger; she can suppress the personality of the body she takes over, making it much easier to control them. The Kyubi usually helps Naruto when his life is in danger or when he feels like it, so he wouldn't necessarily throw Ino out immediately; he even might not be inclined to help at all if Naruto pissed him off recently for whatever reason (too loud, too insulting, not enough "action" with females, not enough violence; and so on). Lastly, Naruto has a way of being unpredictable, so don't assume its over until he's six feet under, and even then... /

-

Shikamaru glanced up through the trees. The sun was almost directly overhead. Good. Time for a quick break. Forming a quick set of seals, he melted into the shadows and stepped out beside Neji, whose eyes had flickered his way even as he appeared.

"We're going to stop for a few minutes. Have a drink, here are a couple of soldier pills," he said as he flicked them at Neji. "Tell Lee to give one of his to Ino when they catch up and have her replace Tenten's bandages," as he looked her over. "I'm going to check on Kurenai, so keep watch until I get back." Neji carefully lay Tenten down and activated his Byakugan, communicating his understanding with a glance. Shikamaru nodded and slipped back into the shadows.

Reappearing several miles away, he immediately caught sight of Kurenai a few branches over, studying the bark of a tree. "What is it?" he asked quietly, dropping beside her.

"Someone marked this tree with a kunai," she said, pointing. Shikamaru peered closely, barely able to see the scratch.

"That's small enough it could have been almost anything; a squirrel perhaps."

Kurenai shook her head. "It's very subtle, but that's only because it's recent. Keep watching." Even as she spoke, the mark seemed to darken slightly, becoming wider and clearer. "See? The kunai was tipped with poison or something similar, fast-acting stuff. The scout only leaves a hairline scratch so that a rearguard or someone with exception eyesight doesn't notice it if they pass it, but after a few minutes, when the rest of the following squad catches up, the poison makes it a solid and visible mark."

Shikamaru looked at her with new respect. "That's pretty impressive."

"It's an old trick, and rarely seen these days as most squads use radios, but if you're trying to be undetectable, it comes in handy." Kurenai smiled slightly. "You young ones still have a few things to learn."

Shikamaru snorted. "What does this mean for us? The scout seems to be ahead of your illusions, but are you still catching the rest of the squad?"

Kurenai shook her head. "The probably got lost in the first for a while, but I suspect they've been on their guard since then. If they're using tricks like this, they're probably quite skilled, and my illusions are not likely to be more than slight hindrances. Tired and having to carry two people, we're moving significantly slower than they are. They'll probably catch us within a couple hours."

Shikamaru sighed even as he swore mentally. _Probably Orochimaru's current Sound Four. Can't run fast enough to escape, can't fight well enough to stop them. Hope we run across some friendly nin in the next two hours…_

"Shikamaru?"

"We can't deal with them in our current condition. We'll just have to move faster." He held out his hand. "Grab on. We're going to shadow-walk to the others." Kurenai took his hand and they quickly melded with the shadows. They stepped out a moment later, where the team was currently taking a breather. The others looked up in surprise.

"Ino, finish up that bandage. We need to move, _now_."

Neji released his Byakugan. "What's the problem?"

"Sound nin," Shikamaru replied curtly. "Skilled and gaining fast. They'll be too much for us to take. We need to get as close to Konoha as we can before they catch up to us and hope we meet a patrol or something. Ino, grab your body and… Ino?" Ino was on her knees beside Tenten, holding her/Naruto's head in both hands and shivering. "Ino, what's wrong?" As if fighting against a crushing force, Naruto's head slowly raised, eyes rolling back into his head and tinted red. His hands twisted in front of him, fighting to form a seal. His mouth gaped like a fish, finally whispering one word: "Kai."

His head snapped forward as his body seemed to relax completely, falling over. A few feet away, Ino's eyes split wide open and a shrill scream escaped her lips. Before he realized it, Shikamaru was next to her, holding her spasming body. "Ino. INO! Get a hold of yourself!" Her body stopped and her eyes started to gloss over.

"She's going into shock," said Kurenai tensely, putting a hand on her forehead.

Shikamaru looked at her desperately. "Can you help her?"

"Yes. Give me some room." She looked at him. "And remember your place. You're in command of the mission. I'll deal with this."

"Don't worry Shikamaru, you don't have to beat yourself up about her getting hurt. It was her own stubbornness." Naruto's voice had an oddly smooth quality to it, contrasting his cutting statements and the dark smile Shikamaru could almost feel. He turned slowly, just as Neji struck at Naruto with a brutal Jyuken palm. Almost casually, the demon vessel slid his hand along Neji's arm, deflecting the strike so that it slid right in front of his body. In one smooth motion, he grabbed Neji's wrist and swept out his forward leg, bringing the sweeping leg up in a circular motion that concluded with a crushing axe kick. Neji, already falling back from the sweep and unable to counterbalance with his arm trapped had no chance to dodge or block. Naruto's heel smashed down on his exposed chest, blasting him downward to the forest floor. Lee, who had been moving to attack as well, changed his target and grabbed Tenten before seemingly flying downward to intercept Neji's fall.

Shikamaru barely noticed. His target, the only person who mattered, was still in front of him. "Kage mane no jutsu!" His shadow leapt forward, trapping Naruto in place. Quickly he began forming new seals.

"Not this time, Shikamaru." Naruto's eyes were red and slitted. Red chakra visibly misted and flowed around his body. Shikamaru felt an immediate change in strength. Stopping halfway through his seals, he focused all his energy into holding the shadow bind in place. Naruto smiled wide, his canines becoming longer and more pointed. His nails thickened and lengthened, becoming pointed and the chakra surrounding him grew denser, the force of it blowing Shikamaru's hair and clothes back. Grimacing, he focused more chakra into the bind, praying for Lee to return before his control snapped. There he was! He could feel Kurenai's presence behind him, shifting as she worked a genjutsu. He smiled tightly. Simultaneously, they yelled.

"Forest Binding Genjustu!"

"Konoha Greater Whirlwind!"

Even as Lee seemed to hit him and Kurenai's illusion materialized, Naruto responded.

"KAI!" A pulse of red chakra exploded from Naruto. Shikamaru's shadow bind instantly snapped; Kurenai's illusion was ripped apart, and Lee's body, for a split second, seemed to freeze in place, the forces perfectly balanced, before being thrown back. Shikamaru and Kurenai, though they were farther away, had no forward momentum and were blasted back by the pulse of chakra as well. Shikamaru was thankful that Kurenai had taken the time to move Ino out of the combat zone before attacking.

With some effort, Shikamaru and Kurenai landed themselves on a large branch. Shikamaru looked around but Lee was nowhere to be seen. He shook his head, putting Lee out of his mind – Naruto, walking towards them from the end of the branch, was far more important at the moment.

His mind blank, Shikamaru took a stance, barely noticing Kurenai drawing her anbu katana next to him. Naruto did not change his slow, measured walk – the walk of a predator. A voice in Shikamaru's head mentioned that Naruto was no longer smiling.

The killing intent increased subtly. Shikamaru hadn't noticed at first, but the uneasy feeling grew as Naruto stepped closer. The increase in tension he felt from Kurenai indicated she felt it as well.

At a sudden crackling, Shikamaru's eye's flickered involuntarily, and nearly popped out of their sockets. The small leaves and branches closest to Naruto smoldered and blackened as he past them. The wood of the branch smoked and warped where he stepped. Sweat beaded on Shikamaru's forehead as he watched, feeling a rising fear. Naruto's aura grew stronger with each step as Shikamaru tried to focus internally. _ANBU do not fear, they do not feel; they kill or die. _

Flames burned behind Naruto, small leaves and twigs flaring and turning to ash at the strength of his killing intent. Fire flared around his feet as the twelve-foot diameter branch they stood on began to burn. Shikamaru tried to turn his head but the fear was paralyzing. He flicked his eyes toward Kurenai, who seemed to be holding up only barely better. Sweat was pouring down her face and her arms seemed to shiver. _ANBU do not fear, they do not feel…_

A massive cracking sound brought his eyes forward, watching in disbelief as the part of the branch behind Naruto – most of it – cracked and groaned, flames becoming more intense. Waves of heat battered Shikamaru as with a final wrenching sound, the branch snapped and bent, a thread of bark keeping it from falling for a second. The flames behind Naruto had grown to a massive sheet, burning everything in sight. _ANBU do not fear… _

Shikamaru saw smoke rising from the bark around him. Naruto was only ten steps away. Eight. Still his killing intent increased. Branches flared and burned to ash within seconds. Six. The wood beneath Shikamaru was smoldering, blackening. Four. There was a thump to his side – Kurenai had collapsed. He wanted to yell at her, to make her move before she burned, but Naruto's killing intent was crushing him, trapping him in place, his red eyes boring into him. _ANBU do not… _Two. Fire exploded all around, burning everything. Shikamaru watched in terror as his hands smoked, melted – the smell of burning flesh choked him, and the pain – unbearable –

Suddenly, Naruto turned away. Shikamaru caught a look of black fury on his face, and everything faded to darkness.

-

Reality returned slowly. Shikamaru blinked, his vision shifting until he finally focused on someone sitting next to him. White eyes. No pupils. Neji. Typical Hyuga lack of emotion on his face. Shikamaru looked past him, at the sky. The clouds were nice; white fluff floating in a sea of blue. Blue. Blue eyes. Red eyes.

Shikamaru suddenly sat up as the memories returned with a crash. He remembered flames, burning… He looked at his hands, unmarked, and then the rest of his body.

"It was a genjutsu." Kurenai was next to him, looking worn. Perhaps his face showed his disbelief, because she sighed when she looked at him. "More than a genjutsu, actually. The killing intent we felt was real." Shikamaru's stomach twisted at the thought. "But the way that everything seemed to burn from it was an illusion. A very good one; it affected all five senses, and the way it was tied to his killing intent made it seem even more real." She lapsed into silence, brushing an errant hair back.

Shikamaru looked at Neji. "Naruto escaped." Neji nodded. Something else tickled Shikamaru's mind for a minute before he remembered. "What happened to the sound nin that were following us?"

Neji, usually the most stoic, hesitated at the question, his face whiter than usual. "There were five of them. Just after you fell unconscious, they attacked – they were closer than we had thought. Lee tried to hold them off. Just when they were about to kill him, Naruto grabbed him and threw him out of the way. Naruto… killed them. Brutally. It took him about twenty seconds." Shikamaru's eyes widened. "The body on the tree over there," Neji pointed without looking, "that was the one of them."

Shikamaru glanced in the direction Neji had indicated and his breath caught. A man, in the dress of the high-level sound nin, had been struck in the chest by something of disturbing power. It was as if someone had punched the tree hard enough to crack it with the top of the tree at an off angle, only the sound nin had been caught in the middle. His body matched the appearance of a crater – thinnest in the middle where the greatest force had been applied, and widening out slowly. Shikamaru look away, his face turning gray. "That one," Neji continued grimly, "was lucky. He died instantly. The other four…"

Shikamaru took a moment to get his stomach under control. "Where's the rest of the team?" Neji point at a branch slightly above them. Tenten had recovered and was working to bandage Lee and Ino lay next to him, still unconscious. Shikamaru watched her for a moment. "Can we move?" Neji nodded. "Lee needs extensive healing. Tenten knows a little, but we need to get him to the Godaime or Shizune or Sakura, and soon. Ino is unconscious, but should be alright." Shikamaru looked at Kurenai for confirmation.

"She'll be fine," she said with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Good." Shikamaru stood. "We all need healing and to report to the Godaime." He left the failure of the mission unmentioned. "I'll take Ino. Neji, can you take Lee?" Neji nodded wearily. "Let's go."

-

Naruto clenched his fist. One more. One more was all he needed. Even against some of Konoha and Sound's best ninja, he hadn't been able to release it. He needed to train more, just a little more. And then? Naruto grinned. Itachi was always somewhere nearby.


	4. Shockwaves

I'm not nearly as satisfied with this chapter as the previous ones. I don't know whether its cause the characters are more "off" than the should be, or the flow isn't quite right... Well, I haven't changed it much in the weeks since I wrote it, so it is what it is. Which is basically a bit of character and plot development to get the story moving. Necessary, even if I think it sucks. Meh. If anyone has suggestions for improvements or wants to beta my story, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Almost forgot. The pairings for this story become pretty clear here, but please don't judge based on what they are (ie. if you hate SasuSaku, don't just drop it). The characters are quite different from what you may be used to, and a lot of the back story for what that is hasn't come up yet. This is the main reason I didn't put them in the summary. :-/ Anyway...

_- _

_Three months later…_

Tsunade sat in the Hokage's office, looking at the young Hyuga across from her. She smiled slightly to herself. Not young anymore, that one. Hinata had grown greatly in the years that had passed, learning from several prominent ninja. Kurenai, her old mentor from Team 8 had given her extensive lessons on genjutsu; Neji had trained her in the use of the Byakugan and the Hyuga clan's brand of martial arts; Tsunade herself had trained her in the area of medical techniques. As a medic, she was second only to Sakura, Shizune and, of course, the Hokage. Tsunade shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"What brings you here, Hinata?"

Hinata stood looking at the floor, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. "Today, my father declared Hanabi the heir of the H-Hyuga clan."

Tsunade frowned in surprise. She knew what Hiashi thought of his first daughter, but this was so… abrupt. "Doesn't he realize how much you've grown?"

Hinata nodded slightly. "He told me himself that even if I became the strongest ninja in the village, I still don't have the will or determination to lead a clan, much less one as powerful as mine." Hinata paused for a moment. "I'm no longer part of the main house, and I'm to be marked with the seal in three days."

Tsunade stood up so fast her chair skidded across the floor. "What?!" she said with barely restrained outrage. "Hiashi would mark you, his own daughter?"

Hinata's gaze dropped even lower. "Yes. Father always puts the clan first. Which is why…" Hinata took a deep breath. "I would like to leave the village." She looked up, staring the Hokage in the eye. "I want to find Naruto and bring him back."

"No," said Tsunade flatly. She saw how the girl froze up at the word, but this was for her own good. "Naruto is lost to us. Worse, he is dangerous and unpredictable, and not only did he turn his back on this village in a way that is nearly impossible to rectify, but he has a list of enemies longer than most of my scrolls, including some of the most powerful ninja in the five countries and beyond." Tsunade hesitated. "More than anyone, I have wished for him to come back, but now I fear that even if we could convince him, it would do more harm than good, both to him and the village." A sudden knock on the door interrupted her. Tsunade's eyes flickered to the door.

"It's Kakashi," said Hinata quietly, causing Tsunade's eyes to widen.

"Enter!"

Kakashi stepped inside. "You're back… early," Tsunade said, a note of wonder in her voice. "Is the world coming to an end?"

"No," replied Kakashi as he closed the door behind him, a serious look on his face. "Sound is gone."

"What?" Tsunade looked at him with a hint of alarm.

"The Hidden Village of Sound, located in Grass country, is gone. Destroyed."

This took a moment to register. "What the hell do you mean?" Tsunade asked, even as Hinata said "Impossible, how?"

Kakashi's visible eye flickered from one to the other.

"Oh, it's fine, not like she hasn't heard most of it already," Tsunade said testily to his questioning glance at Hinata. "And start from the beginning," she added as Kakashi nodded.

"I left on the recon mission about eight days ago. Four days of travel brought me to sound territory, and I spend the night of the fourth day scouting the area and as much of the village as I could carefully. It appeared that Orochimaru was gathering forces, though it wasn't clear if it was for another attack on Konoha. By the time I finished, it was well past midnight, and I left quickly with the intention of returning the following night to complete my observations. I set up camp about ten miles from the village and went to sleep.

"About an hour later, something woke me up. After a quick check to see if there were any enemies around who had found me a detecting nothing, I climbed to one of the higher branches to see if anything was amiss. I could see the sound village, or at least the clearing where it was located since most of it is underground. At first, everything seemed normal, but then I spotted a dark shape near the village, something massive. Fire flared suddenly, a massive explosion I could hear even at my distance. I'm not sure, given the distance, but I think the shadow I glimpsed was a massive fox."

Tsunade turned white and Hinata's eyes widened. Kakashi took no notice.

"As soon as the sun rose, I went back to the village. The whole area had been destroyed completely. Trees had been smashed, burned and tossed around like twigs. Of the village itself, there was nothing left but a massive crater and blackened bodies. Gouges had been torn in the ground, deep enough that I could stand in them and not see over the edge. And covering everything were black leaves that dissolved into ash as soon as I touched them.

"I looked for Orochimaru's body but found nothing. More than likely he escaped. Kabuto was not so lucky. I found his corpse impaled on half a tree." Kakashi looked at Tsunade meaningfully. "What was left of his body had marks that match the effects of the Rasengan." Tsunade grabbed her chair and sat down heavily.

"The Rasengan," she mumbled to herself. "Did you find any trace of… him?"

"No, but I suspect he went after Orochimaru. I found a section of destroyed forest a couple miles away, and it looked like Orochimaru had be forced to use a summon as a distraction, possibly even Manda from the size of the tracks. It didn't look like his summon had lasted very long."

Tsunade buried her head in her hands. "This is disaster."

Hinata looked at her in surprise. "Isn't it a good thing that Sound has been destroyed?"

"Yes and no. It's certainly good that we will no longer have to deal with their attacks, but if the other ninja villages find out that a single ninja is capable of destroying an entire village, even a small one such as Sound, all the Five countries and the surrounding areas could dissolve into war."

"What! Why?"

Kakashi turned to face her. "Hinata, the five countries have a certain balance of power that shifts slowly as ninja villages in each become stronger or weaker. This balance of power affects how the leaders of each country treat the others; typical politics. If word gets out that Naruto destroyed the Sound, the balance of power will shatter. Some countries might increase the size and strength of the ninja villages; others might try to find Naruto and hire him; others would try to kill him. And as he was a Konoha ninja, some countries might decide that the Fire country is too powerful and form an alliance to destroy us. Konoha is already noted for its Sannin and Fourth Hokage, though the Sannin have broken apart and the Fourth died sealing the Kyubi. The news of a single Konoha ninja destroying a village would more than likely lead to an alliance of the other villages against us, as Sand and Sound attacked years ago. And of course, since Naruto is technically our missing-nin we are likely to be blamed for the destruction he causes." Hinata glanced at Tsunade who nodded.

"Then all the more reason I should find him! Naruto-"

"Hinata!" Tsunade slammed a fist on her desk, cracking it. "We already discussed this. Naruto is too dangerous, not to mention beyond our reach."

"Actually, Tsunade," Kakashi said looking Hinata over, "I think she'd stand a better chance than anyone in the village. And we need someone to at least speak to him before another village finds out about Sound."

Tsunade seemed amused. "And just what would she say? 'Naruto, you just blew up a whole damn village, so we're a little curious as to what the world's most unpredictable ninja plans to do next. Oh, by the way, you're actions have just about guaranteed an alliance against your home village which you don't care about anyway, so we'd like to invite you to the destruction-of-Konoha festival, which will be taking place in a few months.'" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "He should be pretty wealthy by now, so maybe we can raise some war funding by selling him a ticket." Hinata looked at her as if she was out of her mind, while Kakashi was unperturbed.

"Perhaps. But from what I've heard, Naruto is currently broke or close to it. Given that he's been doing mercenary work, why don't hire him? He'll probably demand quite a bit since we're the ones doing the hiring, but it'll put him on our side and beyond the reach of the other villages." Kakashi's eye crinkled into a smile. "Maybe we could offer him a lifetime of free food at Ichiraku's."

"Kakashi, that's… brilliant," Tsunade breathed.

"The Ichiraku part?"

Tsunade looked at him sourly. "No, the rest of it. Naruto may not like us much, but I doubt he'd refuse a job on principle. Hinata!" Hinata jumped at the commanding tone. "I am assigning you an S-class mission: find Uzumaki Naruto and hire him to protect the village." Tsunade shook her head at the absurdity of it all. "You are to convince him by any and all means. You will report only to me for the duration of the mission, and you leave tomorrow at dawn. Any questions?" Hinata shook her head mutely. "Good. Prepare yourself."

-

Hinata stood in front of the gates to the Uchiha compound, looking at everything but the gate in front of her. Tsunade's words echoed in her mind. _"Before you leave, speak to Sausuke. Very few know of this, but he has spoken with Naruto within the last year. And of course, they were on a team together. He may have some advice for you."_ Hinata shook her head, dispelling her nervousness and pushed the gate open. Glancing around, she caught sight of Sakura, sitting on the porch of one of the few buildings left intact. Sasuke was rebuilding his home, partly after leaving it neglected for almost two decades, partly to banish the memories of his brother that still plagued him.

"Hinata! How are you?" Sakura grinned and waved, bouncing an infant with a hint of black hair on her knee. Hinata felt a smile grow on her face as she ran over and gave her friend a hug. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

Hinata nodded. "He's grown quite a bit since I saw him last," she said, smiling as the baby stared at her with wide eyes.

"Yes, Sausuke was very happy that his boy's hair isn't pink, even more so than about his eyes." The child's pupil and retina were solid black, an Uchiha trait. "Perhaps he will even have the Sharingan," she added wistfully.

"Ah, Sakura, where is Sausuke?" Hinata quickly asked before her friend could follow that train of thought any farther.

"Hm? Oh, let's see… It's Tuesday, so he usually trains for a few hours and then goes out for lunch. More often than not you can find him at Ichiraku's." A wave of sadness passed over Sakura's features. "Naruto has been gone for so long… He eats ramen there as if in remembrance."

"You make it sound as if he's dead," Hinata said harshly, only to cover her mouth with her hand in embarrassment a moment later at her defensiveness.

"You're right," said Sakura, staring at the ground moodily. "After everything that's happened… he might as well be."

Hinata felt a stinging on her hand and looked up to see Sakura staring at her in complete surprise, a hand feeling the cheek where Hinata had slapped her. "Naruto is not dead. I'm bringing him back, if I have to drag him by his hair the whole way." Sakura continued to stare at her. Hinata could feel the blood rushing to her face. What had she been thinking, slapping her best friend?

"Hinata," Sakura said lowly, causing her to jump, "you wouldn't happen to _still_ have a crush on Naruto after all these years, would you? Hmm?"

"I… I…" Hinata looked down, tapping her index fingers together. "I need to talk to Sausuke! Bye!" There was a rush of wind and Hinata disappeared. Sakura stared after her for a moment before a smile spread across her face.

-

_I am so stupid_ Hinata scolded herself as she appeared in front of Ichiraku's. So engrossed was she in berating herself that she failed to notice the black-haired man sitting a few feet in front of her, calmly eating his noodles.

"Well Hinata, what is it you came to see me for?" He smiled as he heard her jump.

"Sasuke! Y-you surprised me."

"I noticed," he said dryly, indicating the seat next to him with his chopsticks. "Tsumade said you might want to talk to me about something," he added before putting some noodles in his mouth. Hinata sat, blushing in embarrassment at being surprised by him. _Some ninja I am_ she thought to herself. "Judging by your nervousness, I'm assuming your question has something to do with the dobe." Hinata looked at him in surprise. "It's not that hard to guess; Naruto is one of the few subjects that still make you stutter." Hinata closed her mouth as he picked up the bowl and drank the rest of the broth. "So," he said, wiping his mouth and turning to look at her, "ask away."

Hinata traced the curves of the black glasses he wore with her eyes. "I'm going to bring him back," she said suddenly. "And-"

"And you want some advice on how to do it?" Sausuke interrupted smoothly.

"Y-yes." Hinata looked at her fingers.

Sausuke's lips quirked upward. "You understand that what you're trying to do would be about as difficult as convincing him not to try to become Hokage when he was twelve, right? And that even if he wanted to come back, there's no way to village would allow it? Not to mention you will be targeted by the village if this gets out?" Hinata nodded at each question. "Well then." Sausuke folded his hands on his knees and leaned forward. "Understand: physical force isn't going to help. There are very few ninja out there that can defeat him in combat and even less than can outwit him. For all his smiles and apparent stupidity, Naruto is a crafty ninja." Sausuke took a sip of water as Hinata nodded. "The hardest thing you'll have to do is learn that the Naruto you will find is not the Naruto you knew. He's sarcastic, cruel, manipulative and hard. I remember when Naruto could be paralyzed by fear and how he would fight with everything he had but never to kill." Sausuke shook his head. "Naruto has no qualms about killing now. If his objectives are better served by leaving his opponents alive, don't make the mistake of assuming he does it out of kindness or pity. Sometimes staying alive can cause greater suffering than death." Sausuke paused for a moment, lost in thought.

"So…" Hinata said hesitantly, "do you have any positive advice?"

Sausuke gave her a ghost of a smile. "Naruto doesn't trust anyone. He may pretend to, only to stab with verbal knives whenever it hurts most. But if you can earn his trust…" Sausuke shrugged. "Naruto carries a lot of pain. He's suffered more than anyone I know. He enjoys playing with people's emotions now, as if by causing others pain he affirms his reasons for locking away his own. I used to push away my emotions in a similar way, but I've learned better." Sausuke stared at her with his blank black lenses. "I couldn't have done it alone. It was after my life was torn up before my eyes and someone helped me pick up the pieces that I learned a better way to live. Naruto is the same. He needs someone to help him when his life goes wrong. Someone who can share and understand his pain." Sausuke leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "You can do it." He stood and vanished in a swirl of black.

Hinata was still for a moment. _I knew he has changed, but I didn't know he changed THAT much,_ she thought to herself, dazed.


End file.
